Acroterion

An acroterion or acroterium (pl. akroteria)¹ is an architectural ornament placed on a flat pedestal, the acroter or plinth, and mounted at the apex or corner of the pediment of a building in the classical style.² An acroterion placed at the outer angles of the pediment is an acroterion angularium (angulārium means ‘at the corners’).

The acroterion may take a wide variety of forms, such as a statue, tripod, disc, urn, palmette or some other sculpted feature. Acroteria are also found in Gothic architecture.³ They are sometimes incorporated into furniture designs.⁴

The word comes from the Greek akrōtḗrion (ἀκρωτήριον 'summit, extremity'), from the comparative form of the adjective ἄκρος, ("extreme", "endmost") + -τερος (comparative suffix) + -ιον (substantivizing neuter form of adjectival suffix -ιος). It was Latinized by the Romans as acroterium.⁵ Akroteria or Acroteria is the plural of both the original Greek⁶ and the Latin form.⁷

According to Webb, during the Hellenistic period the winged victory or Nike figure was considered to be "the most appropriate motif for figured akroteria.”¹

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  Ancient Greek marble acroterion in the form of Nike, Archaeological Museum of Samothrace, Samothrace, Greece
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  Ancient Greek acroterion of a Nereid on horseback, c.380 BC, marble, National Archaeological Museum, Athens
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  Ancient Greek akroterion, 350–325 BC, marble, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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  Akroterion of the grave monument of Timotheos and Nikon, 350–325 BC, marble, Metropolitan Museum of Art
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  Ancient Greek acroteria from a temple of Artemis, 330-300 BC, marble, Archaeological Museum of Epidaurus, Epidaurus, Greece,
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  Ancient Greek acroteria of the Tomb III, Agios Athanasios, Greece, 325-300 BC
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  Simplified Ancient Greek acroteria of the pediment on an honorary decree, c.300-250 BC, bronze, National Archaeological Museum, Athens⁸
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  Romanesque acroterion of the Église Saints-Pierre-et-Paul de Rosheim, Rosheim, France, unknown sculptor or architect, c.1150
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  Renaissance acroteria of the Villa La Rotonda, outside Vicenza, Italy, designed by Andrea Palladio, 1566-1590s⁹
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  Neoclassical acroteria with mascarons on the Grave of Lupin-Roux family, Loyasse Cemetery, Lyon, sculpted by Pierre-Marie Prost, c.1830
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  Neoclassical acroteria of a window of the Großer Blumenberg, Leipzig, Germany, designed by Albert Geutebrück mid-19th century
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  Neoclassical pediment with acroteria of the Grave of Alexandrina Grejdanescu and Barbu Grejdanescu, Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest, Romania, unknown architect or sculptor, c.1871
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  Greek Revival sphinx acroterion of the Academy of Athens, designed by Theophil Hansen, 1885
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  Japanese acroterion, illustrations by Abel Guérineau, 1887
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  Beaux Arts acroterion of the Collège Franklin (Boulevard Louis-XIV no. 5), Lille, France, unknown architect or sculptor, c.1900
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  Beaux Arts acroterion above a window of Strada Grigore Cobălcescu no. 14, Bucharest, unknown architect or sculptor, c.1900
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  Beaux Arts acroterion above a window of Strada Bocșa no. 2, Bucharest, unknown architect or sculptor, c.1900
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  Art Nouveau acroterion of a stove in the Mița the Cyclist House (Strada Biserica Amzei no. 9), Bucharest, possibly designed by Nicolae C. Mihăescu,¹⁰ 1908
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  Art Deco acroterion of the Dinicu Golescu Entrance of the Northern Railway Station, Bucharest, designed by Victor Gh. Ștephănescu, 1935¹¹
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  Postmodern acroterion of the Harold Washington Library, Chicago, by Hammond, Beeby & Babka, 1991¹²
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  Postmodern acroteria on the pediment of the Children's Museum of Houston, Houston, US, by Robert Venturi, 1992¹³
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  New Classical acroteria on the pediment of the Maitland Robinson Library, Downing College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK, by Quinlan Terry, 1992